Hero... but which colour & why ?

I have an Orange contract, but I have read bad things about not being able to root the Orange phones due to changed unlock keys. I am also only halfway through my contract so SIM free is the only way to go for now.

This brings me to a tough decision... which colour should I go for ?

White - does it really not get dirty ?

Mocha Brown

Black

Pink - er, no thanks, not for me

Graphite - not seen SIM free anywhere

I think I like the brown, but haven't seen one in the flesh... I am worried that the white one looks a bit too, er, Apple !

I wouldn`t go for the white as their has been a few comments on this site about the dye leaking to the phones case from pockets to actual official leather cases, I`ve got the brown/graphite one and the GF has the black one.Personally I think the black one looks a tad bland, I like the graphite one, thing to bear in mind is their is a black border around the screen, so the phones case also has to match this

Don't know how you could possibly get "dye" stains on a white one..I've had a white one for a month now and it's still perfectly white...not a single mark on it (i dont have a skin on it and i dont use a case, just goes in whatever pocket i have that day).

You have to either wear some really cheap jeans that would stain any phone, or simply not take care of your phone, in which case any color you get is going to get damaged anyway.

I got the white because every single cell phone in the world is either black or a dark color, it's refreshing.

Carrying it in a leather case which is a perfectly normal thing to do to give it a bit of protection and keep it clean...like I did.
It got so bad I got HTC to replace the white housing with a brown one under warranty.
I would avoid the white model because of this issue.

When I bought my white Hero it had written on the box that the handset "has been treated with a special coating to help keep it looking new and clean" "If the back of the phone gets dirty, remove the back cover and use a lightly dampened melamine foam eraser (aka. magic eraser) to remove any marks"

I have the white one and no dirt or marks so far although I do use a clear silicon case most of the time

Now before I go on to the cases, there is one thing that I&#8217;ve noticed on the Hero that I should mention – particularly if you have a white one. The plastic that the housing is made from seems to discolour quite easily, the dye from clothing or some cases may transfer on to the phone, which will require a bit of effort to clean off. It&#8217;s not a massive problem as it does come off, but it does mean that if your phone isn&#8217;t protected, it might end up looking worn quite quickly on the corners and on the back cover.
Normally, I&#8217;d recommend an InvisibleSHIELD full body protector to stop this kind of discolouring of the case, but we&#8217;ve been informed by our suppliers that if an InvisibleShield is removed from the phone, it will peel the paint off too, so for that reason we&#8217;ve decided not to range the InvisibleSHIELD products for the HTC Hero